in fresh faces. Public discontent over issues like Metrowater, waste removal, the Britomart Transport Centre and proposed property developments alongside it saw sustained criticism of Auckland's political management. 1998–2010 For the 1998 election, former C&R members formed a new ticket with a view to bringing the "old" C&R organisation back to its more fiscally prudent and centre-right roots. This new organisation, Auckland NOW, won only two council seats, but its contesting of the election across the city split the centre-right vote and ended C&R control of the city. After the 1998 election, a rapprochement between Citizens and Ratepayers and Auckland Now occurred, with an agreement to contest the 2001 elections together under the brand "Auckland Citizens & Ratepayers Now". This merged organisation was successful in winning back the council, simultaneously with the election of the independent socially conservative centre-right mayor John Banks. However, at the 2004 election, a backlash occurred against C&R Now in some wards, seeing control of the city go to the left-wing City Vision ticket, as well as the election of a new mayor, Dick Hubbard. During the 2004–2007 term, a new constitution for C&R was proposed, with the effect that many in Auckland NOW joined C&R, and the organisations were effectively merged to contest the 2007 election. C&R gained significantly in the 2007 elections, capturing a majority on the Auckland City Council, in addition to the re-election of John Banks. 2010–present In the 2010 elections, the first for the new Auckland Council, C&R won just five seats on the twenty-seat council and John Banks was well beaten in the mayoral election by Manukau City mayor Len Brown. In 2012 Citizens & Ratepayers adopted the name Communities & Residents, following a review of the organisation's performance in the 2010 council elections. Other changes adopted after the review included abandoning the "whipping" system used in voting on council issues. The team leader for Communities and Residents is former Auckland City Mayor Christine Fletcher. The previous leader and former deputy mayor of Auckland City was David Hay. Jami-Lee Ross, a councillor for Howick, was co-leader alongside Fletcher from 2010 until March 2011, when he was elected to Parliament in a by-election and resigned from the council. In the 2022 Auckland local elections, C&R endorsed former Chief Executive of Heart of the City Viv Beck for the Auckland mayoralty, and would succeed in increasing its share of Auckland local board